The Fading Star
by Silraen
Summary: Like her beloved Aragorn before her, Arwen is ready to give herself up to the circles which had born her for so many Ages, and as she is in Lothlorien, she meets with her dearest friend by chance. {Written by Silraen and Lovely Nightingale}


Note to all readers: You will find, while reading, that Lovely Nightingale and I keep making references to how Legolas and Arwen have known one another for many years. Our theory is that they have been friends since childhood, but nothing ever happened between them, save the deep kindred-spirit-friendship they had formed.

~~

_The Fading Star_

Written by Silraen and Lovely Nightingale

The land of Lorien had once been lush and full of life, wonder, and beauty. It had once been the home of the most royal and the most powerful Elves since the dawning of history; the Lord Celeborn and his Lady of Light, Queen Galadriel. But no longer did her golden light shine in this once blessed realm. It had once, long ago, been called the Golden Wood, for the gilt leaves of the majestic mallorn trees had made the forest of Lothlorien glitter and shine almost as brightly as the sun.

But not any longer.

Now, the once beautiful forest was lifeless, and it had been for many scores of years. The woodland creatures had departed from their haven as soon as the Elves themselves had departed so long ago for the Undying Lands...never to return to Middle-earth. Ever since their departure, the sun had never once shone in this forest, and there seemed to be a constant gray mist which hung forlornly over the land.

Among the silver trunks of the now leafless mallorn trees, a figure cloaked in flowing black walked. Moonlight shimmered through the bare branches, lighting the woman's path. But she did not need the light. She knew her way...her heart was guiding her.

Arwen Undomiel, the only daughter of Lord Elrond of Imladris, the late Queen of Gondor, and last star of the Eldar Kindred, walked alone in silence under the silver moonlight. Sadness and despair filled her already shattered heart as she gazed around her...remembering...

Once upon a time, she had danced joyfully in these very groves...and she had trod this very path, singing, while it had been covered with lush mosses and wild elanor flowers. She, in the days of old, had once been like this now lifeless grove; she had been so full of life and joy ere...

Arwen let out a sob, and it echoed through the empty woodland. It was as if her whole soul was crying out in sheer agony to the heavens. She tilted her head upwards, the hood of her cloak falling back and the moonlight shone upon her immaculate, though colorless, face. Her eyes searched the moonlit-sky and found the Evening Star...and it seemed to be growing fainter by the moment, just like her eyes. Those eyes of depthless wisdom that had once shone with their own fire and spirit were now quenched like a nightfall in winter that comes without a star. They were lifeless...as lifeless as the forest surrounding her. As lifeless as her soul. Arwen was fading, just like the star she had been named after.

A single tear trailed down her cheek and dripped to the ground, then she looked away from the sky to suddenly find herself standing at the base of a hill...a hill that was so beloved to her, even now. So many blissful memories had been made in this very spot. She had once called this hill the heart of Elvendom on earth...and here her heart had dwelt long before the flight of the Shadow.

The moon outlined Arwen Undomiel's slender figure as she stood, as still and as silent as a white tree. The cold wind blew against her, and her black robes billowed about her. Her dark hair fell from the hood and streamed in the wind. She wrapped her arms around herself as her memories of old came rushing back all so suddenly.

Again, she sobbed, and cried out to the heavens, "Estel! Oh, my beloved..." And then she fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands.

~~

A chill and insistant wind whipped through the ancient mallorn trees. Their once strong and proud branches creaked and sighed mournfully. The old and fading leaves that were picked up from the forest ground by the wind blew through the remains of the once great Elven city, Caras Galadhon. The city now lay deserted within the ancient boughs of the forest, and its heart had long ceased to pulse.

Through the forest, one of the last remaining men of the Eldar Kindred trod down the disappearing paths. He was clad in rich hues of green and his dark-emerald colored cloak swirled and rippled out behind him in the wind. Long, golden locks which were intricately braided tumbled down his broad, strong shoulders. A silver wrought circlet rested upon his fair brow. He was the last remaining Elven King in Middle-earth. Lord Legolas, son of Thranduil, strode urgently into the deathly silent and looming remains of Caras Galadhon, already fearing that he may be too late. Here, within the fading forest, the wind now ceased to blow, and the silence was defeaning. It was as if the ruins of the city were desperately holding their last breath, unwilling to die.

The Elven Lord suddenly hesitated in his stride, every fiber in his being calling out to the one he so deperately sought. Suddenly, a cry rent the still air:

"Estel! Oh, my beloved..."

He knew that voice. Forever had it been imprinted in his memory...though never in his long years had he heard it so full of pain, sorrow and true despair. Without another thought, the Elven Lord ran into the surrounding forest towards the cry, his feet seemed to barely touch the ground. Suddenly, he came to a clearing in which rose green hill, and there, at its very base, outlined in the waxing and waning moonlight knelt the fading Elven Star of Undomiel. Her small and delicate body was shuddering with sobs so full of grief.

His heart cried out to her. He could feel her life-force ebbing...the weight of her long years pressing down upon her, threatening to crush her. Her once luxuriant, raven-dark tresses now lay limp along her back, and to his despair, his keen sight picked out the single, thick white streak parting the ebbing tide of silken water; the only sign of her chosen mortality.

"Nay..." he whispered. "It cannot be..." The Elven Lord took a step into the clearing, his eyes never leaving her. "My lady..." His voice so full of sorrow carried over the chasm of silence that separated them.

Even through her sobs, Arwen heard the voice. She looked up, and through her cold tears, she made out the tall form of an Elven Lord standing there at the base of the hill.

"Lady Undomiel," the man said again. The circlet upon his brow glittered brightly in the moonlight, as did his piercing eyes as he gazed up at her.

Dimly, she thought she recognized his voice. She had heard it so many a time before this.

"Legolas..." she whispered, her voice, once low and melodious, was now husky with more than just age of passing time. Even as tears streamed down her cheeks, she made an effort to rise, but she could not. The weakness of her loss and pain would not allow her to move.

"Lady!" he cried softly, and as fleet as a deer, he ran to where Arwen knelt. Even as he took her hesitatantly in his arms, he could feel her body shuddering. Both her hands once again covered her face as she wept. She was silent as her tears fell, but Legolas could hear her very soul crying out to the world of her agony...of her loss of the one person she had loved more than life itself.

"Estel...Estel...Aragorn..." she moaned over and over again. "Why, my beloved? Why did you leave me alone?" Now her hands were clutching at Legolas, as if he could somehow save her from falling further into the dark abyss of despair. Her once fathomless blue, blue eyes were now as colorless as the pale mists that had begun to ascend the hill.

For long moments, all he could think to do was to hold her, trying to still her trembling body. _So it ends. For all is lost, all hope has died when the star of the Eldar Kindred weeps,_ he thought sadly, bitterly.

When at last Arwen looked up, tears still glittered like pale diamonds on her fair cheeks. Slowly, her bleak gaze met his own, and he was rocked to the core. Never had he seen such vast emptiness. No longer did her gaze shine with its own vibrant light. No longer did it sparkle like the ocean's bluest waters.

The ocean... It was not too late... She could still be saved. If only she would set sail with him! If only she could hear the ocean's sweet call to immortality!

After a time, her tears ceased, and she summoned enough will to give him a ghost of a smile, and for the briefest of moments did he see her eyes glimmer. Tentatively, her pale hand reached up to touch the circlet that adorned his brow.

"Long years have passed since I have last seen you, my friend," she whispered. "Even as I became a Queen, you became a King."

He bowed his head. "Both of different worlds, Lady Undomiel, and yet we still are the same."

Arwen closed her eyes for a moment before re-opening them. "I fear that our fates will be quite different, my lord. For me, the end draws near ere this season ends." She shifted in his arms, and Legolas let her go.

He could not believe how deathly calm she was while saying what he feared most. Her voice held no emotion. It was toneless, colorless, just like her eyes. Just like her soul. And yet, Legolas could sense the determination in her. "Lady..." he murmured. "You..." his voice trailed off as those misty eyes flickered to his.

She held his ocean-blue gaze, and the deep emotion that her eyes suddenly expressed pierced through to his soul. Arwen knew what he thought, and she bowed her head, the waves of her dark hair rippling about her face. The one, snow-white lock stood out, once again making Legolas painfully aware of her mortality.

"Lady..." he began again.

"Nay," she whispered, her voice full of sadness and despair. _Nay... I cannot... I am sorry, dear Legolas... But to be surrounded by my kin for all eternity would be more painful than death. I would rather wander death's lightless and endless void for all time hand in hand with my true love than take the ship to Valinor and be alone without him forever..._

"My lady, please," Legolas pleaded again, but before he could go on, Arwen shook her head.

"Nay," Arwen repeated, gently but no less firmly. She kept her head bowed, her face hidden behind the veil of her hair. She did not think she could bear to see the expression in his eyes so full of worry, sorrow, and pain. "I know I speak no comfort to you, Legolas," she said, her voice low and whispering. She then looked up into his eyes. "But when...Aragorn," her voice wavered as she said her beloved's name, "and I plighted our troth, I knew that in marrying him, I would have to forsake the Twilight and abide the Doom of Mortality. Once, and only once, he tried to convince me to reconsider my choice to bind myself to him. But I knew I could never live without his love. Only now do I realize the bitterness of my choice, though it was my choice to make." She paused slightly, then went on in an even softer tone, "I will never regret my decision. The blissful years he and I had shared, and the children I bore him were well worth this fate."

Legolas gazed down at the ground, his golden locks falling about his shoulders, unwilling to look into her eyes. Sadly, Arwen reached up to touch him. His smooth cheek was warm against her cold fingertips, and as she looked up, she could see tears, like the purest of diamonds, glimmering. Never in all her long years had she seen her dearest friend cry. He was silent, but she could hear the longing in his soul crying out for her.

"Legolas," she murmured. "Do not despair."

He gently reached out and laid his hand on top of hers, reveling in the dove-like softness of it. How could she ask him not to despair when she, Arwen, the star of their people, the undying star, the star that had led him here, was fading right before his eyes? The touch of her cold and fragile hand against his cheek only served to sharpen the pain he felt. Then, a single, icy, glittering jewel slid down his fair cheek.

Swallowing her own tears, Arwen brushed the small diamond away. She had to be strong for the both of them. She had to show him that she was not afraid of death's kiss any longer. But seeing not just a King, but Legolas, her protector, her strong and silent cry, was enough to break her shattered heart further.

"Please," she asked. "Please do not despair for me." She smiled tenderly at him, seeing the different emotions swirl in his blue gaze. Disbelief. Sadness. Hurt. But Arwen was mostly aware of the other emotion that flickered in his ocean-blue gaze. She sighed gently, and she softly caressed his cheek again, her colorless eyes gazing up into his. "Legolas...I..." she paused, then continued in an even softer tone, "I feel that even if I were to sail to Valinor by your side, I would cause you more pain than joy."

He was about to protest, but she placed a long, white finger over his lips to silence him. "I would not be...the woman you had once known, my friend. I would be lifeless. I could never live a new life without him. And I would never try. Would never want to." Arwen gazed at him, trying to make him understand.

For a brief moment, Legolas closed his eyes. He understood. Indeed...he understood too well. When he opened his eyes once more, amid the despair and sorrow, Arwen glimpsed a spark of hope. Inwardly, she smiled slightly. How like the Legolas of old, ever hopeful. With a sudden pang, Arwen was reminded of her own mortality; for to be of the Eldar Kindred was to live for hope and that hope was not easily extinguished...like hers had been.

"My lady," he said softly, his voice even and steady, though his eyes betrayed him. He paused for a long moment before he breathed her name. "Arwen."

The tenderness in his voice drew her eyes instantly to his. Never before had he spoken her name in such a way.

"I know you would not sail for the love and loyalities you bare for Estel. But would you not sail for the love and loyalty I bare for you?"

Slowly, she blinked, looking down to where one of his hands reached for hers. She watched his hand hold hers for a moment before she gazed back up into his eyes.

From the very first time she and Legolas had met, more than an Age ago, Arwen had known that he had admired and respected her, and she him. They had grown to be the dearest of friends, but it had developed into more than that on his part throughout the years. And she had known deep within her soul that he had loved her, but he had kept his distance, for he knew her heart had already been given to Aragorn...and that she had bound herself to him. And long ago, Arwen had thought that Legolas' feelings for her had changed, and she had hoped that they would have. But now she knew that his feelings had not changed, and she felt the weight of guilt pressing down upon her heart...the guilt of knowing that she could never return his affections.

Even though Estel had passed away into eternity, her heart and soul were still bound to the memory of him - and she could not forget his promise to her: _"We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. I will wait for you there, my love."_

"Legolas...I had thought..." her voice trailed off as she tried to search for the right words to say. She did not wish to hurt him. Arwen squeezed his hand gently as she searched his piercing-blue gaze. She did not want to shatter the hope in his eyes...the hope in his very soul. "Legolas," she began again, whispering softly, "you know that I love you and that you will always have a special place in my heart. But the love I bear for you differs from the love I bore and still do bear for my beloved Estel." Suddenly, Arwen's pale eyes fluttered shut for a moment and she placed a hand over her breast. With every passing moment, she knew that her time was drawing nearer. She tilted her head up slightly and opened her eyes to gaze at the Evening Star which was now slowly dimming into a dull glimmer.

"My lady?" Legolas asked, placing a gentle hand under her chin. "What is it?" When she dropped her gaze back to him, Legolas gasped sharply at what he saw in her eyes. Fear's icy embrace gripped his heart. _I am losing her! She is fading!_ The realization was dawning upon him now. _I am not ready for this... For this pain in which I feel in her leaving this world...this life._

She gazed at him for a long moment before answering in a soft voice, "It is time for me, my dear Legolas." Such a time she had known would come since the day she had bound herself to Aragorn. And though she knew she was dying, she no longer felt any fear. Even as she had laid beside her Estel while he had been fading, he had promised her that he would come for her once she too had faded from this world. And that in their death, their love would live on and last like the stars above. And together they could finally be in a place where the bounds of time would have no meaning. None at all.

Legolas caressed her hand, knowing now that he could not convince her to sail away to Valinor, and in knowing that she would only be with him for a few more moments, he treasured the very sight of her - now more than ever. He treasured the feel of her hand within his. He treasured every breath in which she drew in, and he treasured her beauty, even though it was the beauty of a fading star.

"My time is come," she repeated, "but your time is only beginning. Do not despair, Legolas. Bear with you to the Havens your memory of me, and in that way, a part of me will live on." Her voice was now soft...more soft than he had ever heard it. She raised his hand to her cold lips and kissed it gently before letting it fall to his lap.

Arwen Undomiel, the last star of her people, rose from the grass and Legolas slowly rose with her. The moonlight caressed Arwen's features, bathing her in a pearly glow. Once more, she raised her eyes towards the Heavens, and the Evening Star reflected in them, making them seem more radiant than ever before. The mist of despair had vanished, and her eyes now held only the burning starlight as the star suddenly shone brightly and vibrantly in its final glory.

Finally, she turned her radiant gaze to Legolas and she smiled. "Farewell, my dear friend. You have been my faithful constant - even to the very end. Bittersweet is this parting, but do not fear for me, for I do not fear death any longer. Heed my words, Legolas: we are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!"

And those were her last words. Arwen turned from him and ascended the hill of Cerin Amroth - the hill in which all her first joyous and blissful memories had been made...where her true love had been found and her fate appointed. At the summate, she stood still for a moment, as still and as beautiful as a radiant star, gazing for the last time about her, drinking in the last wonders of Middle-earth, when, finally, she laid herself down to rest...to forever be at peace...to forever be with her beloved. With tears of bliss in her eyes and with a smile of luminescent joy upon her graceful features, she took one last breath, and was still.

Even as her last breath of life left her body and her eyes forever fluttered close, she precieved the light of every star in the heavens...and among those stars stood her beloved. Smiling, with the sun in his eyes, he held out a shining hand to her.

"Come, my Arwen, fairest and most beloved. Come with me. You were never meant to be alone. The paths of lonliness are not for you."

With sheer rapture in her heart and soul, Arwen took his hand and faded willingly into his embrace.

~~

Legolas had felt her fade...he had felt her spirit joyfully accept death's bittersweet kiss. And deep down in his heart he knew that now Arwen and Aragorn were truly together...and never would they have to be separated again. As he had watched her slowly ascend Cerin Amroth, his heart had cried out to him to run after her. To call her back. To protect her from the shadow of death as he had always done.

But he could not bring himself to even take the first step, for to call her back, to plead with her, was to deny her her heart's joy. For once she passed death's borders, there she could rejoice and rest amongst the stars of eternity with her one, true love.

Nay...Legolas could not, would not, take that from her even as it drove his heart asunder to watch as she breathed her last, to watch as death took her for its own as he stood helplessly at the foot of the hill, doing nothing as the very heart and soul of the Eldar Kindred faded and passed away.

In silent prayer, Legolas looked to the heavens as the Star of Undomiel, shining radiantly, fell from the sky to fade, so it seemed, on the very brow of Arwen Undomiel herself, who now rested in death's everlasting slumber. The sky seemed to shudder from the loss of the one, blessed star that had shone so brightly in it's heavens for many Ages.

Unable to bear the grief, Legolas, the last Elven King of Middle-earth, took the intricate crown that adorned his brow and cast it to the ground as he fell to his knees at the base of Cerin Amroth, kneeling in grief and revered respect to the fallen Evenstar, not as a King, but as a friend. And as a friend, he bowed his head and wept silently, knowing that the light of the Evenstar had waxed and waned and would shine the heavens no more...

_"Noro na Iluvitar, Arwen Undomiel..."_

~~

And so at last, Arwen Undomiel, blessed star of the Eldar Kindred left her world and life behind to finally be with her beloved Aragorn. And here, the tale of true love closes, for after overcoming all doubts and after crossing through the Shadows of Darkness, their love had proved to be even stronger than death's eternal embrace. And that same love now bore them away, together, through the heavens of eternity...

_fin_

~~


End file.
